Lip filler in Alpharetta
Lip filler is hyaluronic acid placed in and around the lip to restore definition, correct asymmetry, or add a modest amount of volume. Our standard first treatment is half a syringe, which is less than most people expect and considerably less than most practices start with. Lips can be added to two weeks later; they cannot be un-added without dissolving the product and starting over.
What it is
The lip has structures worth treating separately: the vermilion border that defines the edge, the body of the lip itself, the philtral columns above the upper lip, and the corners. A soft hyaluronic acid gel placed along the border sharpens definition without adding size. The same product placed in the body adds height and projection. Which of those you actually want is usually clearer once someone has drawn the distinction out loud.
Lips are mobile, richly supplied with blood, and thin-skinned, and all three affect the result. Mobility means the product breaks down faster here than almost anywhere else on the face. The blood supply means swelling is dramatic and bruising is common. The thin skin means a superficial placement is visible, which is why product goes deeper here than the anatomy would suggest to somebody looking at a diagram.
What it feels like
The most uncomfortable area we treat, and worth being honest about. Numbing cream goes on for twenty minutes beforehand and the product contains a local anesthetic, so the first injection is the one you feel. After that it is pressure. People routinely say afterwards that the anticipation was worse than the appointment.
Downtime
Three to seven days of visible swelling, and they will look wrong at forty-eight hours. That is the normal course, not a complication. Bruising in roughly half of first treatments, clearing in five to ten days. The settled result is what you see at two weeks and not before.
How long it lasts
Six to nine months in most people, shorter than filler placed anywhere else because the lip is in constant motion. A treatment that lasts eighteen months in a lip usually means more was placed than the lip needed.
Who it’s for — and who it isn’t
A good fit
- A lip that has lost its border definition or its vertical height with age.
- Asymmetry that bothers you and can be corrected with a small, targeted amount.
- Anyone approaching this cautiously and prepared to add later rather than commit now.
Not a fit
- Anyone bringing a photograph of somebody else's lips and asking for that outcome. Different anatomy produces a different result from the same amount, and matching a picture is not a treatment plan.
- Lips that have been treated repeatedly and are showing product migration above the border. That needs dissolving and a rest, and we will say so.
- An event inside two weeks. The swelling timeline does not negotiate.
Who performs it here
Jordan Keel
MSN, NP-C
Founder & Lead Injector
Practices under a nurse protocol agreement with, and under the medical direction of, Anita Rao, MD.
What it costs
Priced by the amount placed, which for a first treatment here is half a syringe by default. We publish that starting point rather than a price because the quantity is the part that matters — a practice quoting a per-syringe rate is implicitly quoting for a full syringe, which is not what most first-time lips need.
Questions about lip filler
Why do you start with half a syringe?
Because it is enough to see how your lip takes product and how it settles, and because adding is easy while removing is not. A full syringe into an untreated lip is a decision made before anyone has any information, and it is the most common reason people end up dissolving.
How swollen will I be, and for how long?
Significantly, and it peaks at about forty-eight hours. Day two is the day people panic. It settles substantially by day four and is essentially resolved by day seven. What you have at two weeks is the result.
Can I add more later?
Yes, and that is the design. We review at two weeks, and if you want more height or more definition it is a short second appointment. Building over two visits reliably produces a better outcome than deciding everything on day one.
What if I hate it?
Wait two weeks first, because most people who hate it at day three are looking at swelling. If you still dislike the settled result, hyaluronic acid filler can be dissolved. We would rather have that conversation than have you live with something, and it is the reason this category is the only one we use in lips.